Top 10 Toovar Dal Recipes

sent on 29-Jul-2018

Toovar dal, arhar dal or pigeon pea is one of the must-have items on the grocery list of most Indian families. Tasty, healthy and versatile, it is one of the most popularly used pulses in India. The toovar legume is harvested, skinned, dried and sold as dal in whole or split form. The split one is more commonly used. Both polished and unpolished dal is available in the market, and the unpolished one is more nutritious.

This dal is easily available all over India. There are some families, especially in South India, who buy an annual stock of this dal at the onset of summer when it is usually processed by the farmers and supplied fresh to wholesalers. The women take it upon themselves to dry the dal once more (just to be sure!) in their terraces on large straw or jute mats, allow it to cool in the shade, and store it in huge tins or drums for yearlong use. For many, this is an annual ritual, and increases the feel-good factor and general sense of wellbeing or prosperity of the household!

Toovar dal is used to make nutritious and tasty dals and khichdis. It is also used in some special curries and subzis like the South Indian Paruppu Usili. While the split dal is more commonly used, the whole one is also used sometimes to make tongue-tickling subzis, such as the Maharashtrian-style Masala Toovar Dal.